Rat_Pack Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Hello everyone! New guy here to these forums, but old to model cars. I have been building them close to 39 years, and have gotten out of it within the past 10 years as the real thing has taken precedence. I thought I would post up a few pictures of cars that I have restored that were my Dad's builds from the 70's. Will be glad to answer any questions as I am sure I will have some for the rest of you in the future. I will break down each car shown below. 1970 Grumpy's Toy P/S Camaro: this car was built in April 1970 by my Dad. At the time Grumpy had yet to build his car so Dad just "guessed" at what it was going to look like. Dad turned his pictures and entry form into Model Car Science in May of 1970 then two months later Grump's car appeared on the cover of Hot Rod. There were some differences and mainly it was the hood scoop and the tunnel ram on the real car. The car appeared in the October 1970 Model Car Science as "The Model of the Month" winner. The two issues with the model as compared to the real car set one reader off enough to write in a letter that was published in the April 1971 issue complaining about how inaccurate the model was. The magazine defended their decision and Dad's model, and then added insult to injury in August of 71 by giving him another "MoM" award! This time it was for his build of Bill Heilscher's "Mr.Bardahl" 70 Camaro Pro Stock. Now the Grumpy car is completely unrestored and is just like it was in 1970 when he built it. Some things to note about this build: sanded the vinyl top off of the kit, scratch-built the hood scoop using the canopy from an A-20 Havoc airplane, completely plumbed and wired the engine including the underbody, scratcbuilt the traction bars, and all of the lettering is handpainted except the Crager, Champion, and Fram logos. Bodycolor paint is Testors white straight from a rattle can. 1970 Bill Heilscher "Mr.Bardahl" pro stock Camaro: as stated above, this model was the Model of the Month winner in the Aug 1971 issue of Model Car Science. It did not fair as well as the Grumpy car over the years. I have had to replace the wheels & tires from the parts bin, along with the chassis from another junk model. This car was built using the MPC "Super Hugger" 1970 Camaro. There were three versions of the real car and Dad chose to build the second one out which was a standard Camaro front end with the RS "bumperettes" instead of the solid front bumper. (The other two versions had a straight bumper (1st version) and the final version had the RS nose installed.) Also he ran three different hood scoops on this car, with the "channel ram" being used on this version. Dad used the hood scoop from the AMT Sierra Grande kit, with the wheels and tires coming from the parts bin of a discarded funnycar kit. Just like the Grumpy car all of the lettering is handpainted except a copule of the sponsor logos on the side windows. The body was painted with Testors black, then the panels were masked off and the body painted Testors yellow. 1972 Wally Booths "Rat Pack" Camaro: this kit started life as the AMT "Projectile" Camaro. Basically built straight out of the box back then with the only mods being the scratch-built "Grump lump" hoodscoop and side windows. This car has had some restoration work done to it also. I used a chassis from the first re-issue of the AMT Z-28 back in 93/94, and robbed the wheels & tires from the parts box. The body is unrestored with a couple paint chips of the green touched up. This car too was completely hand-lettered excluding the Cragar & Holley decals. The body is painted with Testors Jade Green metallic over a silver base coat with Testors white used on the hood scoop, stripes, lower body, and the rear tailpanel. I will post up some of my builds later today as I need to take care of the kids for a little while......RatPack.............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamprat58 Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Nice job on the Pro Stocks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Buckaroo Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 (edited) Wow - three of my all time favorite Camaro's in one thread. Your Father's modeling talent is spectacular. How cool it is that these have survived over the years and you have the feature articles. Fantastic looking builds all the way. I was just going through a stack of 1970's Hot Rod Magazines this weekend looking for Sox & Martin pics. I will P/M you a pic of the above mentioned magazine for your use. I also have been collecting parts, decals and such to build the Rat Pack 1 '69 . Looking forward to seeing the rest of your builds ____________________________________________________________ Sean Edited February 15, 2010 by Sean D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rat_Pack Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 Thanks guys, I'll send the replies onto Dad. Sean, got your PM, not sure how to get it back as I think I deleted it or something. However I do have that issue, actually a couple copies. I am a huge fan of Wally Booth (hence the screen name), and I started a 1/12th version of his 69 when that kit first came out. Due to its size the detailing has to be dead-on, plus there is a lot of conversion work to build that car. I wish Monogram had never put a deluxe interior in that kit as it is a big PITA to convert it to a standard interior. It has been shelved since around '95...I may dig it out in a few years. Everyone is building the Grumpy car with that kit since Slixx came out with the decals. A lot of people didn't know that Wally's 69 is actually his 68 with new sheetmetal which is why the rear wheelwells are "rounded" since they didn't change the outer wheelhouses. There are a few good pics showing the build in Hot Rod under the "Strictly for Stocks" section...not sure which issue off the top of my head. Did you happen to pickup RSC's 1/24th release of Wally's 68 Pro Stocker? Excellent detail for a diecast.........RatPack............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smart-Resins Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Very nice builds! I like them! With that kind of work, I know you would be welcomed at Trackburners! Jody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTK434 Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Awesome cars and a great story to go with them. I love the old pro stocks and Jenkins and Booth are two of my favorites. Thanks for sharing them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caine440 Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Great Job! I love the early Pro Stockers! Very well done. Thanks for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pharr7226 Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 What a legacy to share with your dad. This is very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s10chevypu Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Troy, welcome. I do beleve I have that same model car science magazine, Thanks for the pictures of the old 1970's pro stock builds. joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baddgass Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 NICE WORK BRO. NICE I LOVE THE OLD PROS. & THE GRUMPY ( WOW ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dencon Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Troy Outstanding post. I am a big fan of Grump and 8 is my favorite. also being the owner of a 1:1 71 Camaro. I really like these models. Thanks for sharing. Does your dad still build? His work is very impressive. In a big way because what he did with what he DID NOT have in the hobby. Things that we all get to enjoy. I thought those were all decals until I read. I have also loved that Wally Booth's Rat Packer 70 Camaro. I had started to build another Grumpy's Toy 8 a few years ago with the Baldwin Motion 70. But then I started seeing a ton of Toy 8s that got built. So I switch gears and am going to go the "Rat Pack" way with it. I found the decals for the car scattered on a few of Slixx sponsor sheets. So what they heck. Glad to have you on board. So what "Real" car has taken you away from model for 10 years? Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rat_Pack Posted February 26, 2010 Author Share Posted February 26, 2010 (edited) Troy Outstanding post. I am a big fan of Grump and 8 is my favorite. also being the owner of a 1:1 71 Camaro. I really like these models. Thanks for sharing. Does your dad still build? His work is very impressive. In a big way because what he did with what he DID NOT have in the hobby. Things that we all get to enjoy. I thought those were all decals until I read. I have also loved that Wally Booth's Rat Packer 70 Camaro. I had started to build another Grumpy's Toy 8 a few years ago with the Baldwin Motion 70. But then I started seeing a ton of Toy 8s that got built. So I switch gears and am going to go the "Rat Pack" way with it. I found the decals for the car scattered on a few of Slixx sponsor sheets. So what they heck. Glad to have you on board. So what "Real" car has taken you away from model for 10 years? Matt Thanks guys! I learned a lot from my Dad when I was young, and still do today. He had the patience to teach me his hobby when most kids have the attention span of a gnat! I did pick up on it really quick from what he said, and by the time I was 11 I switched gears and was building military stuff. He said I had a better knack for building airplanes and tanks than cars. I was winning awards in the Junior categories at IMPS shows all around the Southeast with airplanes which was a bad thing as I was building models to "win", and not for fun. When I got to driving age I turned my attention towards cars & girls, putting models to the side until my Junior year in high school in 82/83. However I didn't get back into building model cars until a new member to our IPMS club in Knoxville showed up with a 70 Boss 429 Mustang to club meeting one night, and that car looked real! I was hooked! His name was Jack Higgins, co-founder of JNJ Hobbies, and Accurate Miniatures. Dad still builds models to this day. He mainly builds military stuff with an occassional car thrown in for fun. To this day he still does more "handpainting" of lettering, and will scratchbuild something before buying it in resin or photo-etched form. I am still the same way, but I will use some aftermarket items if I cannot build it easily. I am still impressed that is still building at the age of 68, but it keeps him busy and out of Mom's hair since he retired!!! As for the "Real" stuff, there have been numerous cars I have restored over the past 13 years which occupy my time along with taking care of our two boys. Here are a couple pics of some that I have finished up in the past few years................RatPack.................... *** Which decal sheets by Slixx did you find the stuff for the "Rat Pack" car?..................... Edited February 28, 2010 by Rat_Pack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dencon Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 (edited) Troy Those are some beautiful restorations. I think I have seen that first one before. I just found a cool t-shirt of that car and the Super Stock at the nitro drags at Firebird International Raceway last fall. Here is a link to that slixx sheet I was talking about. The sheets look allot better for real them on the slixx site. But I am sure that do that so the artwork cannot be copied well. http://www.slixx.com/1934.htm?id=2665 Matt Edited February 27, 2010 by dencon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rat_Pack Posted February 27, 2010 Author Share Posted February 27, 2010 Troy Those are some beautiful restorations. I think I have seen that first one before. I just found a cool t-shirt of that car and the Super Stock at the nitro drags at Firebird International Raceway last fall. Here is a link to that slixx sheet I was talking about. The sheets look allot better for real them on the slixx site. But I am sure that do that so the artwork cannot be copied well. http://www.slixx.com/1934.htm?id=2665 Matt Matt, Thanks for the link! I have looked at those sheets numerous times and never noticed the RatPack lettering! Valerie has a cool t-shirt with the f/c and pro stocker on it on her website. Pulde has one of the best looking t's and sweatshirts out there with his War Eagle T/A f/c on the front. It is an exact copy of his original artwork done when he was selling them out of the trailer in the pits.........RatPack....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dencon Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Matt, Thanks for the link! I have looked at those sheets numerous times and never noticed the RatPack lettering! Valerie has a cool t-shirt with the f/c and pro stocker on it on her website. Pulde has one of the best looking t's and sweatshirts out there with his War Eagle T/A f/c on the front. It is an exact copy of his original artwork done when he was selling them out of the trailer in the pits.........RatPack....... Yea, that is the shirt I got. I got it for $5.00 from a vendor at the last Nostalgia Nitro funny Car race at Firebird International. It was quite the score not only because it was 5 bucks. But I am a big guy and it was just my size. That Slixx sheet not only has the "RatPack" lettering. It has the "Booth Aarons" and the car numbers for the glass. Do you have a recommendation for the green to paint the 70? Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rat_Pack Posted March 4, 2010 Author Share Posted March 4, 2010 Yea, that is the shirt I got. I got it for $5.00 from a vendor at the last Nostalgia Nitro funny Car race at Firebird International. It was quite the score not only because it was 5 bucks. But I am a big guy and it was just my size. That Slixx sheet not only has the "RatPack" lettering. It has the "Booth Aarons" and the car numbers for the glass. Do you have a recommendation for the green to paint the 70? Matt Matt, all three Rat Pack Camaros were supposed to be the Rally Green from 68/69, but every picture I have of the car shows it to be darker than that. Even the ERTL 72 Camaro is darker and more brilliant than true Rally Green. However it is probably the closest to the real car when compared to the cover shot of it in SS&DI. My Dad's model is pretty darn close when compared to the picture of the car below. I am betting the car was a candy color, or pearl over a metallic base..................RatPack................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
static-x Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Yea, that is the shirt I got. I got it for $5.00 from a vendor at the last Nostalgia Nitro funny Car race at Firebird International. It was quite the score not only because it was 5 bucks. But I am a big guy and it was just my size. That Slixx sheet not only has the "RatPack" lettering. It has the "Booth Aarons" and the car numbers for the glass. Do you have a recommendation for the green to paint the 70? Matt You can't build a green race car ya know what I mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dencon Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 You can't build a green race car ya know what I mean. inside joke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Pol Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Love those cars your dad I remember those cars I have the magazine that shows them. By the way would you happen to have photo`s of the real car of the black and yellow camaro. I always wanted to build it but don`t have any detail shoots of it.By the way my dad is 80 and still builds cars and he still paints all his models by brush. And the funny thing is paint jobs are still better than mine and I spray paint. John Pol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fast Floyd 2 Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Cool Rat pack, we are not to far from one another, Good looking builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90lowboy Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 ...AWESOME!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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